Cambodia saw a 20 percent spike in its share of gaming revenues from January to June of this year, according to Finance Ministry spokesman Ros Phearun.
Phearun said the number of licensed casinos in the country has risen from 57 to 65, and more Thai nationals are visiting Cambodia to gamble, reported the Cambodia Daily. He added, however, that visitation by Vietnamese gamblers is down, a reflection of the growth of casino gaming in Vietnam.
“The amount of casino tax revenue collected is dependent on the situation in the border areas. The proportion of tax revenues from the Cambodia-Thailand border areas is large,” Phearun said.
Currently, only holders of foreign passports are allowed to gamble in Vietnam’s casinos. In Thailand, casino gambling is not legal, although there have been recent suggestions that licensing casinos could boost tourism in the country and stop locals going across the border to gamble. Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, however, has shown little interest in adding such an initiative to the government’s agenda.
